1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bowling lane maintenance machine which performs selected maintenance operations on the surface of the bowling lane, shifts itself to the approach area spanning a plurality of lanes behind the foul line end of the lanes, indexes to another lane, and then shifts to this lane to again perform a maintenance operation thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, devices have been designed to perform maintenance on a bowling lane which automatically traverse the length of the bowling lane and then shift to another lane to perform a maintenance operation thereon. Such a prior art device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,000 which uses a mechanism to detect a bowling lane end cap for guiding the machine from one lane to an adjacent lane. Air cylinders lift the machine so that the lane driving wheels no longer contact lane surface to allow the traversing wheels to shift the apparatus across lane division caps to an adjacent lane.
The prior art devices present mechanically complex structures for movement and guidance. Accordingly, the prior art points out the need for a bowling lane maintenance machine which is mechanically simpler and thereby more reliable and easier to maintain.